Greetings!

We have been having this crazy weather lately. One day, it’s sunny and bright, and 90 degrees. The next day it is raining and cold, and 65 degrees! Some areas, there is snow up to the tops of the houses, and in other areas it’s so hot that the brush is catching on fire. Thinking about the changes in the weather caused me to think how the changes in the weather mirror the changes in our lives. Just like the weather, we go through seasons. Some seasons teach us how to dress, and others teach us how to hold on.

Life can be unpredictable, but if you know how to read the seasons, you can weather any storm. God’s word says that He will never leave us. That means that He is right there with you in whatever you go through. The thing with God is this…because He created you; He knows exactly how much you can take. The Bible says that He will never give you more than you can bear. So, then the question is…do you trust Him? Do you know that no matter what, you can trust Him to be right in the midst of your situation? Do you believe that He has already worked it out, and that this too shall pass? Do you? We say a lot of things…but, when the rubber meets the road, what do we believe?

Here are three things that I believe:

·         I believe that God can do the impossible (Matt. 19:26)

·         I believe that He has made me more than a conqueror (Rom. 8:37)

·         I believe that there is nothing that is too hard for God (Luke 18:27)

There are many things that cause me to have doubts, but not with God. I have learned that He is a man of His word. Every promise He has made is true. You can trust Him, because He is faithful. He loves you, and every situation, every pain; and every sorrow…has a purpose. You were made to weather the storm. Don’t look at your storm…look at the one who calms the storm.

Until next time…

Be blessed.

Greetings!

I cannot believe it…we are nearing the end of the summer already. I know that we all have the same amount of time, but it’s like time is moving at warp speed lately. It's as if Christmas was just here and it’s almost Christmas time again…which, really isn’t bad since I love that time of year.  But, thinking about how fast time is going made me think about how I’m spending my time. I wonder sometimes if I am doing enough of the right things and less of the wrong things. I try to be a good steward of everything God has given me…including my time, but I’m feeling like I might not be doing as well as I should. When I get on that track and I begin to think about things that are best left to God, He has a way of showing me myself that always get me back on track. I thank Him for the way He watches over us.

Last week, God helped me see how all my “works” meant nothing if my heart was not in the right place. He also had to show me that as much as I would like to believe it—I was not in control. That actually took the pressure off. I didn’t have to feel like I needed to have all the answers. I could let go of those things that made me feel insecure and inadequate and put them in His hands. He showed me that if I was really going to seek holiness I was going to have to listen to Him and pay attention to what He was speaking to me. I’m so glad that He continues to teach us in the way we should go.  

This week, He is showing me Psalm 139, and I am seeing it in a way that I have never seen it before. Seeking to live a life that is rooted and grounded in Him means that we have to be on one accord. He has to know that He can count on me to do the things He is calling me to without having to prove Himself to me. I am realizing just how awesome it is to be in love with Him. He knows everything about me because He created me and I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Knowing that He watches over me is comforting. I love knowing that nothing about me is hidden from Him, and with Him I can be myself.

I know that His works are wonderful, and I know that full well…

Until next time…

Be blessed!

 

Greetings!

Recently, I had been praying about where God was taking me, and what He expected of me. I have been having this powerful urge to go deeper than I have ever gone, and it has been making me feel uncomfortable…irritable. It was almost like I was fighting with myself. Last week, I realized that seeking holiness is causing me to go to a place in God that I have never been. A place where I have to open up completely to Him, and even though I know it is God…I still feel vulnerable…and I don’t like that feeling. I like believing that I have control…even though I know I don’t. So, what did God do? He took me to the sixth chapter of the Book of Judges.

I started out this week meditating on fasting and praying. I am just completing my second 21-day fast, and wondering if I had gotten everything I was supposed to get from this fast. The first time I did an extended fast was in 2008 with two other friends. God moved in my life so powerfully that I tried to keep going for a full 40 days! The problem with that was that God had not called me to do that, so I was out there on my own…drowning. I allowed the enemy to pollute my mind into thinking that I hadn’t done enough. I remember losing so much weight that people thought I was ill…even my doctor told me I didn’t look good.

Let me tell you how much our God loves us. As I was nearing the end of this fast, I started thinking again about extending the fast through the end of the month…which of course would be 40 days. That’s when God introduced me to Gideon in the Book of Judges. I thank God for the Holy Spirit because He spoke to my heart, and let me see that just like Gideon even though I may sometimes have doubts—God does not. Gideon doubted his abilities, and when God appeared to Gideon as an angel and said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior" (Judges 6:12, NIV), Gideon didn’t believe him. He even doubted that he was hearing from God…so he put God to the test—not once, but three times, and each time, God answered his request. Although I didn’t know that’s what I was doing…I wanted God to prove Himself by giving me the same experience I had five years ago during that first fast. God had to show me that I couldn’t have the same experience because I am no longer the same person. Praise God!

I love God...He is so patient with us. I have to believe and know that God heard my prayers, and answered each and every one of them.

On that I have no doubt.

Until next time…

Be blessed

 

 

Greetings!

Yesterday, I heard this song on the radio and in part it said that the person singing was thanking God for changing her whole life. That song sparked something in me, and I have been singing it for two days. Every time I think about how God has “transformed” my life, He didn’t just change it…He made it brand new….but, every time I meditate on what He has done for me, I want to fall on my face in worship to Him.

He took me…raggedy, tore up from the floor up, selfish, spoiled, and angry me, and changed me so that I no longer even recognize myself. I don’t act the way I used to act. I don’t feel the way I used to feel. I don’t even speak the way I used to speak. He has changed my whole life, and I will never ever be able to thank Him enough.

For the past couple of weeks, I had been seeking something that I couldn’t really put into words. It was as if my soul was thirsty. Our church theme this year is “Living Holy,” and I believe I finally know what it means to seek holiness. I want to live like Him, to walk like Him, to give like Him, and to love like Him. I want to be an empty vessel for Him…to allow Him to take complete control of me.

I heard someone say one time that they were feeling some kind of way. Lately, I think that’s how I’ve been feeling…like I have been showing up and checking out. Worrying about who says what, and who’s doing what and I am tired from the inside out. I have come to the end of myself.  You know that place where you are sick of doing what has always been done.  Hallelujah!

God is calling us higher and we can’t waste time on playing church. That means that we will have to want what God wants, and move when God says move.  To do what He is calling us to do—even when it feels uncomfortable. And know this… sometimes that won’t be popular. Everyone is not going to like the new you. The you that God has made you to be. The you that you have been too afraid to walk in you—the God-centered you. But, there are a lot of hurting people out there who need leaders that are focused and determined to do what thus saith the Lord, and I want to be in that number.

So, if you see me shouting…you know it’s because I have received my breakthrough!

Until next time…

Be blessed!